Because you want to know

Wendy in the bumbo

2012-02-16T09:00:00.000-06:00

Wendy is a pro at sitting in the bumbo...

Sweet Sisters

2012-02-15T14:38:00.000-06:00

I was going to snap a few photos of Wendy today but Jane insisted she be in them too. She sat next to Wendy and showed her some sweet sister love...
(Jane's feeling much better and isn't contagious anymore)

Jane was being so sweet that she made lunch for us all. I'd say guess what she made but it's ALWAYS noodle and cheese...

It's all fun and games until someone ends up with a bowl on their head (thanks Jane)...

Sometimes photos are good even though they are a bit blurry. I'm starting to learn that. I couldn't NOT share these sweet memories just because they didn't turn out perfect :)

Smiling Wendy

2012-02-14T09:00:00.008-06:00

I finally got some pictures of Wendy smiling! She never was a grumpy baby. She's always been quite content but now she shows her happiness instead of hiding it behind her furrowed brows. Here's my doll of a baby!

"He's getting married?"

2012-02-13T09:00:00.004-06:00

As Brandt was rushing out the door to go to Stake Conference we had the following conversation:

Jane: "Where are you going?"

Dad: "I'm going to Church."

Jane: "I want to come."

Dad: "This is a special Saturday church for grownups. Love you, bye!"

Jane (turns to me): "He's getting married?"

Dad (opens the door and snickers at me): "Yup! See ya!"

Me: "No, he's not getting married."

Jane: "He's getting baptized by (inaudable)?"

Me: "He's going to get baptized by who?"

Jane: "By Jesus."

Me: "Wow! You're smart, but no, he's just going to the Stake Center for Stake Conference."

Jane: "Stake Conferererererernce?"

I'm amazed at what she holds onto from what we tell her and her lessons from nursery. She's a SMART crazy girl!

Poor Janie, sick again

2012-02-11T18:31:00.000-06:00

Jane's been sick since Tuesday with a fever and REALLY bad cough. I took her to the doctor yesterday and turns out she has... pneumonia.

We feel really bad for this poor little girl. She gets what she wants right now. Here she is enjoying her millionth hour of TV this week...

We're really hoping Wendy doesn't catch it. She already has moderate congestion so hopefully it doesn't turn into what Jane has. Trying our best to keep our distance from the germ sprayer :)

Concerned Wendy

2012-02-08T11:43:00.001-06:00

Something has happened. I'm not sure what changed but over night Wendy has a million smiles! I think something just clicked in her mind after 3 months and 1 week. She is all smiles all the time.

Now, I realize why she might have felt so concerned...

I would too if I had a crazy big sister who loved to "play" with me.

I couldn't get a good shot of her smiling today so I will keep trying and post them soon but I'm so excited for my little girl! I love her smiles!

Here's one more to remember "Concerned Wendy" by...

Wendy: 3 months

2012-02-02T10:09:00.001-06:00

Our little girl turned 3 months today! She is quite the calm baby. She is very content to just chill in her gym or basically laying down anywhere. When she does fuss it's just because she wants a snuggle which I enjoy because Jane wasn't such a cuddle bug. As far as sleeping goes, she's not as great as Jane was but she is sleeping from her dreamfeed at 10pm till 7am so I'll take that.

She is smiling more, finally! She is still very solemn or concerned as I like to call it but she does have some smiles to give.

She also rolled over twice the other day! I put her on her tummy for tummy time and right away she rolled over onto her back. She looked at me like, "Wait a sec, I can do something about that?!" I flipped her back over and she did it again. Jane and I cheered loads for her.

Here are some pictures of the little lady...

Breakfast with Jane

2012-02-01T22:10:00.001-06:00

Since you can't be here with us (and I KNOW you want to be) this is what you're missing at our breakfast table...

Yes, Brandt is brushing his teeth and had no idea I was filming...

Painter Jane

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000-06:00

While Brandt's parents (Ann & Roy) were here they spoiled her rotten. They bought Jane, her very first paints and spent time painting and making crafts with her. Here are some sweet pictures of the first evening they painted. Jane's wearing my old University of You, Youth Stake Conference shirt. It's the first time we've gotten her to wear something of ours... she had always FREAKED out when we tried to get her to put on "big" clothes. Here's the artist's, artist daughter:

Drummer Girl

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm not 100% sure what Jane will be into when she's older but I do know one thing she will be into is music... probably rock music. She's always drumming on things. She's always singing and jumping around. She's always saying, "No. You sing, Dad whistle and I drum.", and then we all do it. She's already directing us! In the car she's always asking about the music... One time a guy and girl were doing a duet and she said, "Mom, where the guy go?" When she gets a little older I'll get her into some music program. I know she will LOVE it!

Here are some pictures of her drumming the other day. She set up the stool, flipped over the Lego container and went at it all on her own.

Running in circles around the drums singing VERY loudly:

Which turns into this:

And eventually to this:

Oh, how we love our crazy 'Hurricane' Jane!

Lego Jane

2012-01-18T09:00:00.002-06:00

Jane LOVES Legos. We now have about 400 Duplos which makes it fun for everyone. She's constantly asking us to play Legos with her and could play with them for hours. There are 3 Duplo people. We have named them Lego Jane (she's blonde like Jane), Lego Jack and Lego Jose and Jane calls them Lego... when referring to them. Here are some pictures of her building the other day:

This is her "figuring it out/considering all the options" face:

I can just hear her saying, "Dats better mommy" with this expression and then moving on to the next project:

Yellow Bath Water

2012-01-17T15:56:00.001-06:00

She really had to go...

Just kidding.

Someone gave her bathtub dyes for Christmas. Who's idea was it to make yellow ones?

Yuck. I feel like I need to wash her from head to toe since she's playing in it. And, I almost threw up when I stuck my hand in it...

Wendy: 2 months

2012-01-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

We went in for Wendy's 2 month check-up today (she's 9 weeks tomorrow). She is just perfect. She got two shots and Jane held her hand the whole time saying, "It's ok Wendy, it'll be okay". She was so sweet to her. Then the doctor gave her the oral vaccination which Wendy DOWNED because she was so hungry :)

Her stats:
Weight: 11 lbs 2 oz (Jane was 11 lbs 10 oz at 10 weeks)
Length: 22.25 inches (Jane was 22.5 inches at 10 weeks)
Head: 14.5 inches

She's still perfectly average for height and slightly above for weight. She's got rolls I never saw on Jane and is definitely rounder even though their stats seem to be the same. She does have a flat side on her head because no matter what we do she sleeps on the right side but hopefully with Brandt's new wedge invention she'll stop and it'll round out on its own.

Last night she slept from 10:30pm (dream feed) till 7am!!! She's taking a little longer than Jane did to sleep through the night but we're giving her a little slack since she was born 2 weeks early. This was the best night she's had and even though I don't expect it again tonight we can see she's making progress.

She is starting to smile and coo a lot. She cracks us up with her goofy grin and I love to sit with her and stare at her. She's just a sweet little girl who loves to cuddle. Hopefully I finally got my cuddle bug :)

Wendy's Blessing

2012-01-04T12:44:00.000-06:00

We were able to bless Wendy on Christmas this year and Roy and Ann (Brandt's parents) were here for it. Brandt did a lovely job and our friend John, Bishop Rowberry and Roy were able to stand in for it.

Here's our precious daughter:

My mom sent us this dress and blanket. It was perfect and Wendy looked so lovely in her white dress!

We love this little girl SO much!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-04T12:38:00.000-06:00

This year Christmas lasted a long time! We woke up, opened stockings, made and ate a big breakfast, got ready for church, went to church (and blessed Wendy), came home, made dinner, ate AND THEN opened presents! It was fun to spread it out throughout the day.

Here are some pictures from when we opened gifts...

Jane was really excited to open the presents after helping everyone empty their stockings earlier that day. Here she is opening one from my mom.

We asked her what it was and she said, pointing to EACH PIECE, "It's that one and that one and that one and that one..." I think she was confused by all the food, thinking it was all real. After opening the box though, she was SOOO excited to have food that she could play with.

She was really good at opening the presents this year. She even helped everyone open their own.

Super excited about this fridge magnet toy from her Uncle James.

After a while though, she got kind of bored. While we were opening some of our presents I looked over at her doing this. She was SOOOO bored!

But we saved the best gift for last... her very own kitchen that Brandt and his Dad put together the night before. She is IN LOVE with it. When she wakes up in the morning she doesn't even want to get milk, she just wants to play with her kitchen. Notice the different pj's (both were a gift from Grandma B this year)? Yeah, she loves this kitchen so much that she forgets to um, use the potty... it's a problem :)

I walked into her room and she was holding her fake knife. Then, to feel how smooth it was (I'm guessing that's the reason) she slide it across her throat. Yikes!! We talked to her about how that's the ONLY knife she's allowed to play with :)

We were once again, SPOILED this year. We heave the best family and friends!

Santa and the Misses

2011-12-18T13:57:00.000-06:00

Jane and I went to Navy Pier with some friends on Friday and had a blast. On our way in we saw Santa. He was being interviewed by a news station so there was no one in line. I asked how long till he'd be finished and they said 5 minutes so started a line for him.

Jane was REALLY shy. She didn't want to go near him but was ok as long as I stayed with her every second. She did talk to him, telling him that she wanted a long lego (a long duplo piece which she has one of and is obsessed with). She said Merry Christmas to the both of them and we went on our way. Here's a picture. It's a screen grab from their site because I wasn't going to fork out $25 for an impromptu photo...

Santa had to have been in his 20's but the misses was elderly... creepy :)

First Smiles, Finally!!

2011-12-10T21:49:00.000-06:00

From a few days ago:

After feeding Wendy at 4pm today, Jane was jumping ALL OVER the bed and we were trying to get Wendy to smile. It worked!! It started when Jane would give her a kiss and laugh as I bounced her a little while cooing (we were REALLY trying). Then it kept up. They were quick little smiles but she did it!!! I have seriously been trying and felt like an idiot afterword when I got zero results so now I have hope that my 2nd will not be a serious grump her whole life, yay!

This wasn't a REAL smile, just one as she was sleeping the other day. Hopefully we'll get a real one soon!

Little Miss Wendy

2011-12-09T09:44:00.000-06:00

Actually, she's not so "little" anymore. The doctors were right that she would thrive better on the outside because at her one month appointment she came it at...

Weight: 8 lbs 3 oz (was born at 5 lbs 7 oz)
Height: 20.75 inches (was born 18 inches)

She's completely average now. And, she's just about on track with where Jane was at this age.

She is definitely a skeptical child. She almost always has the, "I'm not sure about this place" or "I just know I'm about to get hit by Jane" look on her face. She has yet to smile for us when she is awake (does when she's half asleep) and I've been trying HARD! One day she will.

She wakes up once a night which is a million times better than 2. However, she's got to be the LOUDEST sleeper. I think she's constantly trying to poop and squirm so lots of grunting. I love ear plugs. It's the only way I'd be able to get any sleep with her even in the other room.

My favorite time with her is right after she's fed. She is so alert and lifts her head up all by herself. She loves to cuddle which I don't mind one bit.

Here are a few pictures. Hard to get some without her typical grumpy (skeptical) face so enjoy them :)

Blueberry Mess

2011-12-07T09:17:00.000-06:00

Today is bath day which is why I let Jane have frozen blueberries. She only gets them on bath day because...

I asked her to smile. This is what I got.

"Dat's better", she said and I agree.

"Dwinken orange juice mommy!"

Realized her hands were dirty was really disgusted. Off to the bath we went.

Now it's time to clean the table and chair. Frozen blueberries are SO messy!!

What's been up you ask?

2011-12-05T13:07:00.000-06:00

2 kids, cleaning the house, making dinner and trying to rest leaves little time for blogging... Still trying to figure it all out.

We went to Detroit to visit the Jenkins (Brandt's cousins) for Thanksgiving. We drove up Monday and came back Saturday. The drives went PERFECTLY! Brandt figured out where we'd be when and where there were parks so when I had to feed Wendy Jane could play. Jane didn't need the ipod or snacks until the last 30 minutes the way there and a little bit more on the way back. Both girls did great!

The visit was really fun. We LOVE those guys! We played, ate great food, went bowling, saw a movie, did Chuck E. Cheese, the adults went on a date to a GREAT Thai place, made a Costco and recycling run, and went to Krispy Kream for some yummy donuts Thanksgiving morning. One day Brandt went to work with Whitney (because they both work in the same field) and I got to take quite a few naps.

Brandt went back to work on the 28th. My first week alone went great but I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle everything. There's no time for me to nap during the day but hopefully soon there will be when naps change.

Wendy:
She's awesome. Lately she's been sleeping from 10:30 pm to about 4-5pm!!! She's been down to 1 night feeding for over a week and it really helps. She's a fast eater and great sleeper so what more can you ask for. She still looks concerned and worried a lot but hopefully we'll get smiles out of her soon.

Jane:
She's pretty cool too. She's obsessed with her Lego's and will play with them for hours. She also LOVES singing and actually has an impressive range of notes. She sings like a real person, not like a typical monotone child. It's cute to listen to. She still has a couple accidents but is doing great with potty training (almost always wakes up dry from naps and nighttime). We just started trying to get her to stop sucking her thumb by putting Cayenne pepper on it. We asked her if she sucked her thumb after the first time and she said, "No, I'm too scared." Haha... sweet.

She's had frustration and listening issues since Wendy has been with us but I guess that's typical with a 2.5 year old. We're working on it and trying to show her nothing but love. She keeps us laughing though. The other day when we were putting coats on she sang, "Oh what you do to me, oh what you do to me." and we started busting up. Our little girl was singing "Hey there Delilah." that she apparently just picked up for the radio in the car. I love her little surprises.

And that's about it. 2nd child definitely gets less pictures but luckily they look exactly alike so she's not REALLY missing out :) Will try to take and post some soon though.

Bendy Wendy

2011-11-20T13:40:00.001-06:00

Jane has stopped calling Wendy, "Bendy" and is now calling her "Wendy Mae".

That's PERFECT!

But...

She's also calling me "Mamma Mae" and Dad, "Daddy Mae".

She's starting to get it :)

Here's our rock star playing "drums" in Wendy's little play gym:

Wendy: 2 Weeks

2011-11-19T14:46:00.000-06:00

Wendy is doing just fine. She was up to 5 lbs 12 ounces a week ago so is gaining weight just fine. She LOVES having baths until you start rinsing her off and then she goes nuts (just like Jane did). She is still only sleeping in 3 hour increments at night but that's expected I guess. I can't wait till she only has 1 feeding at night.

Jane loves her. The other day we came home from an outing and Brandt put Wendy (who was in her car seat) in our room. I guess the door didn't shut all the way because about 10 minutes later, when I heard Jane say, "Awwww" I KNEW she was in there with Wendy. She had opened the car seat cover and was playing with Wendy's hand. Wendy was fussing and I'm pretty sure it was because Jane had stuck the carrot stick she was eating in Wendy's mouth. Not good on MANY accounts but mainly because Jane is sick and now Wendy has a stuffy nose. Oh well. At least Jane has good intentions :)

Here are some picture we took of Wendy on the awesome quilt my Aunt Susan sent Jane...

Janers

2011-11-06T13:27:00.000-06:00

I have about 10 minutes till it's time to feed Wendy so I thought I'd share what Jane's been up to lately...

She is obsessed with the doors in our apartment. She is constantly opening and shutting them. The reason she's obsessed is because she discovered they have locks on them. I was surprised this morning by a loud "click" when I shut the bathroom door. I guess she left that one locked but didn't shut it. Luckily the locks can be unlocked by simply inserting scissors and turning them.

She is also obsessed with taking the number magnets off the fridge and saving them in different places. I went to get a pacifier out of a little bag for Wendy and found about 6 of them there.

She has been super sweet to Wendy. When she wakes up from a nap or comes home from somewhere she asks where the baby is. Unfortunately she thinks her name is "Bendy" (a cross between baby sister and Wendy). We'll see how long it takes her to get it right :)

She is constantly surprising us with correct usage of words. Last night she said, "It's pretty dark outside". A full, correct, and true sentence. She's getting so big!

We love her to pieces!

Introducing: Wendy Mae Brinkerhoff

2011-11-03T15:40:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday baby Wendy! We're so glad you're here!

Tuesday afternoon my Dr. and the Maternal Diagnostics Specialist decided they should induce me because the baby was STILL small for gestational age and they wanted to make sure she was ok. Brandt came home a little early, we dropped Jane off at a friend's house for the night, grabbed some dinner at Popeye's and then headed to the hospital.

After arriving and waiting and waiting, they started inducing me at 8pm. The labor really started 2 hours later at about 10pm. I think about midnight I got the epidural and it helped BUT 2 hours later, it STOPPED working on my left side. I pressed the button a bunch of times for more but it didn't do anything. The contractions were about 1 minute apart and HURT like crazy! The guy came back and administered a different medicine through the IV but it didn't do anything either. I was NOT prepared for that!! I hadn't even reviewed how to breathe because during Jane's labor I didn't feel anything.

So, from 5.5 cm until she was born I felt EVERYTHING on my left side. That was from about 1am until 4pm. Funny thing about Wendy is that I hardly had to push. I pushed a total of 5-6 times for about 5 minutes but she wiggled her way out mostly on her own when I wasn't pushing. I wonder if that means she's a go-getter kind of person.

She was born at 3:58am on 11.2.11 (my half birthday) weighing in at 5 lb 7 oz and is 18 inches long. She has quite a bit of dark hair around the back of her head and looks just like Jane did when she was born. I feel fine enough to go home (much better so far than I did after having Jane) but they need to keep Wendy here because she's been having issues with her blood and jaundice and a couple other things (I'm not worried, they are just too difficult to explain) so I am staying till she leaves.
Here are some pictures...

Dad and Wendy... He adores her!

Even though she gave a lot of grumpy face today:

Jane adores her too but have been NUTS-O since yesterday! She's been sweet to Wendy though:

And, I of course think she's fabulous too. I can't stop holding her.

Girls rule boys drool!

And here she is not grumpy-faced :)

This picture especially makes her look JUST like Jane when she was born:

Sleepy head!

Lastly, while we were focused on Wendy, trying to get some pictures taken, Jane kept saying, "Hey look mom, I'm texting!" over and over. I think I heard her the 4th time she said it, turned around to see what she was doing and she WAS texting people. She is not and has not EVER been allowed to touch my phone. She's very observant and has lots to teach Wendy! She's going to be the best big sister!

Halloween Costumes 2011

2011-10-31T11:00:00.002-05:00

I saved the best for last today... This year we went as a Garden Gnome Family. I bought Jane's costume on After Halloween Clearance last year at Target for $2 and then made our costumes to match it. It wasn't too hard (after I realized the needle kept jamming because it needed to be changed... grrr) and kind of fun because I gave myself about a month to do pieces here and there.

Friday night we all wore them to our ward's trunk-or-treat and again on Saturday down to Andersonville where we took Jane trick-or-treating to participating businesses. She got SOOO much candy on Saturday. We'll take her out once more tonight but only she will be wearing her outfit (we're costumed out).

Here are some pictures from Saturday... NO JUDGING MY PREGNANT FACE (I only have 2 weeks left tops)!!!

I love this picture. SOOO much pink!

Eating her 1st (of 3) piece of candy.

Back at home and after the 3rd piece of candy. She was NUTS!!! I think 1 is her limit!

The happy Garden Gnome Family :)

Now... what should we be next year... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Harvest Festival 2011

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

We decided to forgo the 1.5 hour away pumpkin farms this year for a harvest festival at a local park. It was just what we needed to get in the spirit!

Here are some pictures from a few of the activities we did there...

Jane and I went into a big pen of animals running free and she got to feed them. She did pretty well considering she'd never been in this kind of environment before.

She stepped in animal poo right about here. I still haven't cleaned off those shoes. Maybe I should just leave them in an IHOP parking lot :)

Then she got to go in a bounce house. She loved every second of it!

Climbing up slides is one of her favorite pastimes these days and she's pretty good at it.

My happy family. I love them!

It was a gorgeous and fun day!

Pumpkin Carving 2011

2011-10-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

This year we bought a pumpkin, only to find it completely molded on the bottom and into our table 3 days later! I was MAD! I took it back to the store and they happily replaced it with 2 better ones which we carved over the next two days.

Here are pictures of Brandt and Jane carving them: "I can do it all by myself!"

"This isn't gross at all!"

"Awesome!"

"Ok, maybe a little gross."

Meet Mr. Jack the Pumpkin Head. Jane requested he have a mustache.

The next night we carved the other. Meet Jill the Baby Pumpkin Head.

All lit up!

So they lasted about 3 days before caving in on themselves. Word of advice... don't put a pumpkin on your table without something underneath it...

Trick or Treat Bag

2011-10-11T15:05:00.000-05:00

Today I whipped up a bag so Jane can collect lots of yummy treats for me on Halloween. I wanted her to have one she won't constantly spill (who likes dirty candy?) and also wanted it to match her costume so here it is. Took about 2 hours on and off without a pattern. Not bad for me :)

And Jane said, "I want to say CHEESE!" so here she is...

Nice day at the park

2011-10-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

We met up with some of our friends at Oz Park yesterday. I let Jane bring her scooter because she's OBSESSED with it and got some cute pictures of her riding it...

Here she is on the swing. She's getting a little too tall for the low baby swings... she learned she can drag her toes on the ground and thinks it's the funniest thing.

I asked her to show me how excited she was to be on the seesaw and well, now you will know how happy it makes her...

Here's Jane eating some snacks with her friends. She's pretty tall compared to them. Stella, on the far left is moving back to Australia in 10 days with her parents and that makes us sad. Good thing we've been able to meet up with them a lot lately!

Yay for warm days at the park with good friends!

Because it's been a while...

2011-10-05T09:43:00.000-05:00

Here's an update post...

I am now 34 weeks into the pregnancy. My hips are killing and I can walk about 2 blocks max in a day or it's out and painful the rest of the day. Besides that little issue, I'm doing great, just getting bigger and bigger. Still shooting to have this little girl on 11.11.11.

Jane is doing sweet things to my belly or as she calls it, "baby sister". I spilled apple juice on it and she said, "I'm SORRY baby sister!!". She tries to give it sips from her sippy cup, shows it cool toys and gives it hugs.

She started gymnastics a few weeks ago. The teacher remembered her from the year before and had her demonstrate the log roll in front of the class. She was a pro and showed off her mad skill. She LOVES the climbing wall, can do a somersault without thinking about it and is trying her darnedest to do the balance beam without any help.

She received a scooter from a friend and figured it out in 2 seconds flat. She loves to ride it everywhere we go. When she wakes up in the morning or from naps, the first words out of her mouth are "Where's my cooter!?"

Potty training is going... well? Some days she'll have 4 accidents but other days she won't have any. She has been waking up about 12am EVERY night saying she needs to go potty though and it's making Brandt tired (he doesn't wake me for it). She stays dry almost every night and for most her naps but we're not sure what to do about that midnight potty break.

Overall, we're doing great and are excited and super nervous about the little one joining us next month. I'll try to post more pictures (because I know that's what you love) and I'm sure charging the camera right now will help.

1st Official Night Fright

2011-09-21T11:03:00.001-05:00

Update: I asked her what he looked like and she said, "a guy". I asked her what he was wearing and she said, "a nice shirt and bloomers". I love her!

Last night a little after midnight Jane woke up freaking out. I only heard about it the next morning since Brandt got up and helped her through it.

Aparently when he went in, she was on one side of her bed screaming about how there was "a guy" on the other side by the wall. He talked to her about it but she wouldn't budge. He sang to her but she wouldn't budge and kept screaming. Nothing seemed to help, she was sure there was "a guy" in her bed. He finally asked her if she wanted to sleep in the crib and she said yes. She went right back to sleep.

My first thought after hearing the story, besides how sad I felt for her was, "Oooh Jane, that wasn't a smart move. If there was a guy in your room you wouldn't be able to get out of the crib."

I can only think of two things that could have caused this fright. 1) The enormous Halloween statue of the Death Reaper blocking one of the isles I tried to go down at CVS. She would not follow me. We had to walk down a different isle. Or, 2) The firefighter statue at the Children's Museum which talks when you press a button. She wanted to press the button but ended up being too scared.

I feel so bad for her. I am still sometimes terrified that there are "bad guys" in our apartment when Brandt's not here and I hate that it's already started for her. Any tips? She doesn't watch real TV and rarely cartoons but I can't control decorations or things she finds scary that really aren't... Poor girly. She was still talking about it this morning and was showing us where the guy was.

Sicky Janie

2011-09-06T15:37:00.000-05:00

Jane's caught another cold. It's been a while since the last one so it's not like I wasn't expecting it. She is constantly saying, "Mom cuddle me", "Mom play with toys with me", "Mom sit down stay a while", and "I want to sit on lap" all day. I'm ok with that since I know it won't last forever. One day she won't want a cuddle :(

I let her snuggle on the couch this morning and watch some Sesame Street. Here she is not feeling well but happily distracted...

She did feel up to giving me a cute cheese smile though.

Stinker even got to eat her lunch at the computer while watching the show.

She's been fake whining and whimpering when she cuddles. She'll do it and then say in her most chipper voice, "Oooh butterflies" and be totally fine. Just now she faked a whine, I asked what was wrong and she said, "My hip hurrrrrts." Stinker.

Hot Chocolate

2011-08-30T08:57:00.000-05:00

Brandt treated Jane to hot chocolate after dinner one evening last week. She DOWNED it! I think she got 3 refills. Here are some pictures...

All clean!

Potty Training Day 1

2011-08-29T13:12:00.000-05:00

We started potty training Jane yesterday. We started off by waking her up and singing "Happy potty training day to you!" and she was so excited. She had a few accidents in the morning, did great the rest of the day until the evening when she had a couple more.

She was excited to get a treat every time the timer went off and she had dry pants. She'd scream and giggle and run to the bathroom every time it beeped (every 15 minutes). When we got there she'd check to see if Irma (her doll) was dry and then herself and if they were they both got a piece of candy.

Later that night we had a cupcake party, because every Happy Potty Day needs cupcakes. She got one green balloon and one cupcake. Here are some pictures of that part...

Conducting the music as we sang "Happy potty training day to you!":

Testing the cupcake:

Ok, it's a go. She dug right in:

She did wake up around 10pm crying. We think she had a tummy ache from all the candy :( So, today she only gets one piece of candy if she's dry. She's done GREAT! She stayed dry for 2 hours while we were out running errands today and went potty at 2 of the places we went. Go Jane!

Workin' Girl Jane

2011-08-12T11:59:00.000-05:00

Jane's new favorite game is as follows:

She gets a card of any kind, an old gift card, insurance card, etc. Holds it up to show me and says, "I got train pass." She puts it in her pocket and says, "I got ta go ta work, kiss goodbye?" She gives me a kiss and walks off to where I can't see her.

She walks back and says, "I'm back!"

I say, "How was your day? What did you do?"

She says, "I saw a Mickey Mouse at da work."

And does it all over again, all day long. I like getting all those little kisses :)

Swimming at Aspen Grove: 2

2011-08-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Finally, this is the last Utah vacation post. We were there a long time so I had a lot to blog about :)

The last day we were at Aspen I decided I wanted to get in the pool too so 15 minutes before the pool closed for dinner, I got Jane and I in our swim suits and ran over there. It was almost not worth the 10 minutes we had in the pool but I'm glad I got it. It was hot out!

Here are some pictures of Jane playing with her cousins:

Parker, Courtney (Parker's little sis) and Jane:

I loved that Jane would jump to Courtney AND that Courtney would catch her:

She was DANGEROUS with that noodle. Stinker pants...

Badminton Prodigy

2011-08-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

One afternoon, Brandt's brother Matt brought his kids up to Aspen Grove so we hung out a bit. One of the things we got to do together was play a little badminton. I'd say Jane's a prodigy but I might be a little biased...

Don't mess with her. She's got serious game:

Grandma with Jane and Tanner (Matt's 2-year-old) after playing one tough match:

Swimming at Aspen Grove: 1

2011-08-05T15:49:00.000-05:00

Before dinner one day while at Aspen Grove, Brandt took Jane to the pool. Here are some pictures of them playing and splashing. She LOVES Parker and still asks about him.

Big Pool:

Little Pool:

She's one little water child.

Trucker Jane

2011-08-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Jane was invited to our friend's son's 2nd birthday party this past weekend. Graham is such a stud. He could actually be Jane's twin with those eyes and blonde hair but alas, different moms and birthdays :)

Anyway, his Dad, Erik, caught a sweet moment of our two little kiddos playing and I just had to share it because it's totally Jane...

2011 Brinkerhoff Reunion

2011-08-02T14:05:00.000-05:00

The first major event we had planned when we got to Utah was the family reunion. All the Brinkerhoff's got together and spent 2 fun-filled days in Provo. Here are some of the family pictures we took the first morning. (Brandt designed the shirts)

Getting set-up for the pictures:

The whole clan minus 2 people:

Grandma and all her great grand kids:

Silly cousins. Parker in front was by far Jane's favorite cousin this trip. He's a super cool, yet sweet 10-year old.

It'll be too long before we can all meet up again but we can't wait!

The Gender

2011-07-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

I received a comment on this blog asking if we knew what we were having yet. I posted it on Facebook but neglected it here. I have my priorities messed up, I know.

So, we are having...

a...

...nother....

GIRL.

We probably won't name her until she's about 5 years old because we're having such a hard time so any ideas would be nice. And, I'm 24 weeks now so over the halfway point, yay!

Day Care Sprinkler

2011-07-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

While up at Aspen Grove, Jane was cared for for about 5 hours a day. It was SOOOO nice. Brandt and I felt like it was just us again, like little love birds. I totally forgot how it felt to not be a mom and just to be a wife. I love being a mom, wouldn't trade it for anything but now I think I need this feeling about once every 2 years at the least.

We spent our days playing shuffle board, mini golf, frisbee golf, pottery, archery and going to guest lectures. I was super stressed the first day wondering how she was doing but she didn't even look back every time we dropped her off.

One day they brought out a sprinkler and Brandt and I went to take pictures of our little girl playing in it...

A little hesitant:

One of her teachers getting Jane wet:

She loved playing in the cozy coupes. Maybe one day when we own a house I'll get one.

Sunday and Cabin Shots

2011-07-22T19:00:00.000-05:00

We had church outside up at Aspen Grove. It was pretty cool sitting there in the middle of a mountain have a church meeting. The lessons were great and Jane had a great time at nursery. After it was over we took a few pictures...

Our little family:

Every time we climbed up the stairs from the walk from our cabin, Jane got SOOO excited to "ride" the animal statues:

Here's a shot of the cabin we stayed in. It looks super small on the outside but it's not too small inside. It has 2 rooms which I wouldn't have traded indoor plumbing.

She was really happy to be there:

Hot Tub Time 2011

2011-07-21T19:00:00.000-05:00

Jane LOVES swimming. Ann's hot tub is the best pool for Jane because it has "hills" for her to climb on and the water isn't too deep. She LOVED it.

About to jump in:

Big splashers:

Treading water:

She's thinking, "This is so much fun you HAVE to try it."

This is so different from 2010:

And definitely from 2009:

Jane's First Fireworks

2011-07-20T19:00:00.000-05:00

A few days after the 4th we decided to do a few fireworks for Jane before she went to bed. I could tell the whole time that she wasn't too sure of them.

Warning: Brandt dressed her...

She finally warmed up to the poppers and figured out how to throw them pretty well.

She was really hesitant with the sparklers. She just held it and kept dropping it down to her clothes. Yay for scorch marks.

It was funny watching her watch the fireworks. She kept giving these faces...

A big applause after the show...

And my two favorite people giving their best cheese faces...

The Fourth

2011-07-19T22:47:00.004-05:00

We headed to Utah on July 3rd and have done a bazillion things since being here. So much so that my sister, who I talk to 5 times a day usually, texted me after 2 weeks of no contact asking if she'd done something to offend me. Brandt left for home on the 16th but Jane and I are still hanging out here.

We kicked off our vacation by going to the Orem (or Provo, they are the same to me) 4th of July parade. Ann and Brandt went super early in the morning to get spots and breakfast so all Jane and I had to do was show up. It was a LONG parade, which was a good thing because sometimes they go so fast you wonder if it's worth going to. Brandt's cousins came so that made it even more fun.

Here are some pictures of the festivities...

One happy family:

Dad and his little angel:

Jane eating HALF of the sandwich Ann and Brandt got for us. She devoured it:

Jane waving to all the policemen in the parade. She sure loves her men in uniform:

Jane dancing to some music. She is always so focused on her dance moves:

At one point they threw out some incredibly bad choking hazard candies. Brandt got one for Jane and I promptly switched it out for a dum dum I had saved for this moment. She LOVED it.

Later that day (after naps) we went to the Provo Fair. Ann spoiled Jane and let her ride some rides. I have come to realize this trip that Jane is a thrill seeker. She loves climbing high things, going really fast and doing anything that is crazy. She loved every minute of the rides and was sad to have to stop. We also shared a funnel cake which resulted in Ann being covered in powdered sugar. She did ask for extra sugar on top... Anyway, it was a great day.

Hurta da Arm

2011-06-29T11:11:00.006-05:00

Nothing makes me feel like a bad mom quite like it being my fault Jane got hurt. We were playing and I was swinging her around when I felt a pop. She cried for ages. I finally wrapped it up in a sling and gave her tylenol.

Jane wearing the sling:

She was fine for a while but her temperament changed. She was a completely calm and cuddly child. After it was wrapped, we snuggled on the bed for an hour listening to our hungry tummy monsters growl and giggling each time. It was super fun and I won't forget that moment for a long time.

Still after a few hours she hadn't gone back to normal. I kept trying to see if her arm really was hurt or if she was just being a sissy. I tried getting her to pick up a jelly bean with her hurt arm and she wouldn't do it! She LOVES jelly beans! So, I eventually took her to the ER.

They did X-rays but it wasn't broken and turned out that her elbow was dislocated. They popped it right back into place before I even knew what they were doing and Jane was back to her old self within 2 minutes flat. I'm sure the popsicle they gave her helped that :)

We went to the park after because I had been promising her and she played like a little monkey. She even climbed a rock wall!

Dad met us at the park and we went to Fornello's for dinner. On our way home, as we were waiting for the train, Dad was holding Jane's hand and she tried to jut off.

AND... elbow dislocation #2. Back to the ER we went.

The same Dr. saw us right away and fixed it in a second. It took Jane a bit longer to heal but she was back to normal quick enough.

Now we have to treat that arm like it's our precious fine China for the next couple months. I sure don't want her to get it hurt again and I especially don't want to have to pay that HUGE co-pay again :)

And, that was our day yesterday. So fun.

Baby #2 Heartbeat

2011-06-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Jane and I went to the OB Tuesday (in 95 degree weather I might add) for my 17 week check-up. She sat in a chair while the doctor checked for the heartbeat. When she found it I turned to Jane and told her that that was the baby and that the baby was saying hi.

A little after the appointment I asked her what the baby sounded like and she said...

"Shoo shoo shoo hi Janie shoo shoo."

I couldn't stop laughing, that was so sweet!

Now she keeps pulling up my shirt so she can say hi to the baby. She's going to be a great big sister.

(I find out June 25th if it's a boy or girl!!!)

My Strawberry Shortcake

2011-06-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Jane received this adorable outfit from our friend Heather for her birthday. I LOVE it and so does Jane so today we went outside for a little photo shoot. Enjoy!

Her little feet are getting so big! This afternoon she got her first blister and has whined nonstop about it. A band-aid seemed to help though.

Making music on the fence with a stick. This is one of her favorite outdoor activities.

This is what we call "Jane Robot". Brandt taught her that she is a robot whenever she puts a bucket or basket on her head so when she does she says, "Jane robot beep bop boop".

I seriously love this little girl SOOO much!

Disney World Part 3

2011-06-03T08:41:00.011-05:00

Jane and I stayed back at the hotel on Thursday while Brandt, Brody and Ann went to Universal because we needed a break from all that walking around. Long story short, they brought me back a Harry Potter Butter Beer and I got to try a sip of it :) Brandt and I went out that night to a Mexican restaurant in celebration of Cinco De Mayo. It was the WORST Mexican restaurant experience EVER and everyone there spoke English! It took 1.5 hours of sitting to finally eat and they still had our order wrong on the 3rd try. Luckily they gave us 50% and free dessert after complaining.

Friday morning we headed to MAGIC KINGDOM!

We rode the monorail in, which I don't remember from my past visit there. We took the obligatory first picture in the park photo...

Then, we walked up to the castle and watched the show that was going on for a few minutes. All the princesses and their men twirling around...

I wanted to get some pictures of Jane while she watched the show because she looked so happy but after a few I think she was getting upset because she wanted to watch the show, NOT take pictures...

Here's the family...

Then we went to the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. I remembered this from when I came with my sister Anna as teens. Not too exciting for me but Jane loved being up high in a tree.

Jane LOVED the kid rides, which by the end I realized were ALL THE SAME. Here she is waiting in line for the Aladdin Magic Carpet Ride (which almost got closed because of rain)...

And, here's us on the merry go-round...

After we went on the It's A Small World ride, Jane was really sad because she REALLY wanted "more boat". It was also her nap time so that made it extra hard.

We went on the Buzz Light Year ride where you shoot the aliens. Brandt and I rode together and everyone else rode in a separate car. We decided to see who could get the highest score. I actually beat Brandt, 85,000 to 82,000. Then, Brody told us his score... on the higher end of 200,000! He, um, won.

While Ann took Jane on a ride, Brandt and I went on the hunt for funnel cake. A worker told us the wrong place so we came back and found Mary Poppins. I waited in line to get a picture taken with her, hoping Jane would be done by the time it was our turn. Jane was still nowhere to be seen so I walked up to her and said, "It's just me!" She said, "Just you!? That's no way to introduce yourself! A proper lady should walk into a room and say, It is I!". She was a really nice lady and a good actress I might add.

We all got back together and found the funnel cakes ($3 less than at Epcot!!). Right after we were done it was about time for the parade so we got some good spots and waited...

It was a super hot day and you could see sweat dripping off the dancers as they twirled by us. Here are couple pictures of the end of the parade...

The final part later!

Potty Time!

2011-06-02T09:40:00.003-05:00

Today is a very special day!

Jane went potty in the toilet for the (real) first time! She'd gone twice before but that was after giving her something to help her poop but today she went all on her own accord! She's such a big girl now!

For her reward she got to flush the toilet or "press the button" as she calls it. As it went down she said...

"Bye bye poo poo, I LOVE you!"

Here are a couple pictures of my little 25 month old showing us how happy she is to be a big girl...

Sneaky Devils

2011-06-01T19:26:00.002-05:00

Brandt got home from work while I was feeding Jane dinner. It was about 5 minutes to her bed time. After I finished up he said he wanted to play with her for a little bit before bed... I said ok. They went outside and played with bubbles for about 10 minutes.

I told them it was time to get ready for bed so he brought her inside and took her to her room to get her changed. After 10 more minutes of them in there I realized they were playing with toys. I told them again it was time for bed.

He took her into our room to brush her teeth. I was in the kitchen making our dinner and I hear Jane run towards me saying, "Read a book". Right after, Brandt yells, "No! I said DON'T tell her we're going to read a book!"

She stopped dead in her tracks and started screaming with sadness. It was so sad to see. I think she was startled that 1, he raised his voice (not in a mean way of course) and 2, I think she thought she wasn't getting a book.

We comforted her and after a few minutes she stopped crying. I had her say, "Dad, it's not nice to be sneaky." Brandt then said as I walked back to the kitchen, "Don't worry, I'll teach you all my sneaky ways so you can be a pro at it."

Stinker, stinker sneaker pants!!!

30 minutes passed her bed time, she's finally in her crib :)

Beach Day Break

2011-05-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday we went to the beach. It was about an hour and a half away. This is what Jane did during the drive...

When we first got there, Brandt took Jane into the water. She LOVED bouncing in the waves in her new floaty chair. Then, Jane and I played in the sand/water while the others played in the water with boogie boards. After a while I relaxed on beach while Jane took a nap under many towels. We decided to leave a while after she woke up because it was pretty overcast and we missed lunch.

We packed up and headed to a BBQ joint where you could order as many sides and main dishes as you wanted. We, of course, tried everything which meant we packed our stomachs full. Then we went to Dairy Queen... I know, I know but I don't really have access to one here in Chicago and I had been craving a peanut butter Blizzard.

When we got back to the hotel we cleaned up and put Jane to bed. Then Brandt, Brody and I went on a LONG journey to the outlet mall (they're too nice) for some maternity clothes and Jane shoes. I did try hard to make it a quick trip.

Everyone except me got pretty sunburned, I actually only got a burn about the size of 2 quarters on my right arm where I apparently missed when applying sunscreen. Luckily though, no one was too uncomfortable.

Next up, Magic Kingdom and lots more pictures.

Money money money

2011-05-27T11:51:00.002-05:00

Jane: I found Money!!!! Money!!!!

Me: Do you wanna go put it in your piggy bank?

Jane: YESSSS!!!

(I get the piggy bank for her)

Jane: A penny!

Me: Good job, that IS a penny! Where did you find it?

Jane: In da pack pack.

Me: In MY back pack?

Jane: Yes! (gives me a cute smile)

Disney World Part 2

2011-05-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday we went to Epcot. We split up right away so Brandt, his mom and Brother could go ride the BIG rides. Jane and I occupied ourselves in an explore center. She LOVED the real fire truck and running around the building. Then we played a savings game. She had a hard time waiting in line for it (actually ran passed all the people and started crying when the worker stopped her). But, when it was our turn she loved it. She held the piggy bank while I played the games. It was a close call but I dominated the last one and earned Jane enough "money" to buy her dream bedroom (which she was saving for). She got a sticker.

Then we went on a boat ride about gardening, a Nemo ride and saw some water animals. We tried watching a 3-D Michael Jackson movie but Jane and I left because neither one of us liked it.

Epcot is fun because they have lots of different "Countries" to walk though. It was funny to see America. It was the "Colonial" America which is funny because that's NOT what it is today. I went in the restaurant to see what food "America" has. In case you're wondering, Grilled chicken sandwiches, Chili Dogs and Cheeseburgers... that's what we have to offer the world.

Brandt and I went to an all-you-can-eat German restaurant with Jane. Man it was PRICY but totally worth it for the experience. We all ate WAAAAAY too much. They had a band play for about 10 minutes and all the little kids went out on the dance floor. Jane wanted to do it too so we let her. Her dance consisted of spreading out a napkin on the floor and sitting and jumping on it. I had to stop her after a couple minutes because so many kids were running around, having a napkin on the ground wasn't the safest thing. While we finished stuffing our faces, we took turns watching Jane because she could not sit still anymore. For about 20 minutes she did nothing but RUN around the restaurant. It was pretty funny to watch.

The band:

We stayed to watch the fireworks and then headed back. I got a movie from Redbox and watched it while Jane slept and the others went to Magic Kingdom since the park didn't close till 1am. They wanted to get some BIG kid rides in while we weren't with them.

We all went to bed way too late again but slept in the next morning.

Disney World Part 1

2011-05-26T09:10:00.007-05:00

Orlando was great. We left freezing temperatures in Chicago for mid 80's in Florida. It was so nice to be outside all day almost every day we were there.

We flew in Saturday, saw a plane writing "TRUST JESUS" in the sky, spent an hour and a half trying to check in and got groceries for the next day.

Sunday we went to church, went swimming in the FREEZING hotel pool and just relaxed.

Monday is when the real fun began. We went to Animal Kingdom first...

I got to wear an "It's My Birthday" button since it was my birthday. Whenever an employee saw it they'd wish me a happy birthday.

We went on some safari rides and walks and saw some fun and interesting animals. Here's Brandt and Jane on one of the rides...

We watched a Lion King show, which Jane amazingly fell asleep during and a bird show.

Then they left the pregnant woman and small child to ride some BIG kid rides. It was great timing though because we were just in time for the parade. Jane played with her Mickey glasses and a few wipes while we waited for it to begin...

After the parade we went on the log ride (Brody watched Jane). There were these 11-12 year old boys on our boat that had ridden it a couple times in a row. They were so excited because Brandt and I were going to get soaked. They were sure of it because of where we were sitting. I was nervous but when it came time to get soaked, THEY got most of it!! We all laughed pretty hard.

Then we went on a kiddy ride with Jane. She probably rode it about 10 times because there wasn't a line and she loved it so much...

She rode it a bunch more with Grandma while I waited in line to get our picture taken with Goofy and Pluto...

We played in a little play area until the park closed and then split up for dinner. Since it was my birthday, Brandt offered to take Jane with him and his Mom to Joe's Crab Shack (I didn't want to eat there but both of them did) and Brody and I went to a Japanese place for some sushi (we both wanted that). Brandt had the car so we had to walk back to the hotel. We got a little lost and ended up walking through 3 different eco-systems before getting back to the hotel. It's always a fun time with Brody though.

When we got back, Ann brought me an ice cream cake. Mmm, mmm. Then we played mini golf on the course at the hotel, got a game from the club house and brought it back to play. We stayed up way too late but all ended up sleeping in the next day.

Wow... done. More later :)

Rainy Day

2011-05-25T07:50:00.002-05:00

Since it's dark and dreary out, we all woke up about 7:30am (we usually get up at 7am). Jane didn't even stir and she's usually the first one up.

One good thing about this day though...

Today I felt the little apple (15 weeks today) inside me flutter around. That's a nice thing to wake up to :)

Jane's Birthday Party

2011-05-23T09:00:00.001-05:00

To celebrate Jane turning two we invited a bunch of her friends over and threw a flower and butterfly spring brunch party. It took a lot of time to get ready for (I went way overboard) but was lots of fun. First, we chatted and ate and then the playing began...

I bought this cardboard house A LONG time ago and thought it would be fun to pull out during her party. It took Brandt, Peter, Brian and Julie to put it all together but worth it because the kids had a lot of fun playing in it. We packed it right up after everyone left and will pull it back out another time. Probably the best $5 I've spent.

After playing, Jane opened presents. She received some pretty sweet stuff, that lucky little girl.

Then we sang happy birthday...

She blew out the candles in one quick huff. I didn't even get a picture of it she was so fast.

Here, Jane and her besty Stella (born the day before her) are enjoying the cupcakes.

One item I went overboard on... the cupcakes. Those flowers are gum drops that I flattened with sugar crystals and cut out with a mini cookie cutter. I saw them on a magazine cover and knew Jane NEEDED them on her cupcakes.

I also made 48 mini quiches from scratch, 2 dozen homemade blueberry muffins with homemade parchment paper liners, 2 breakfast casseroles, a fruit bowl and some punch.

Next year... Chuck E. Cheese.

A Day to Remember

2011-05-20T18:29:00.003-05:00

Today Jane told me, totally unprompted, "I love you." !!!!!!!!!!!

We were in the elevator on our way down to do laundry. Jane was looking down at the laundry soap bottle she was helping to hold. I said, "Hey, cutie" about 3 times so she would look up at me and smile. She looked up and smiled alright and then she said it, twice because I couldn't believe that's what she said so I asked her to repeat it.

I am SO blessed to have such a sweet child. I love her so much!

Thinking back on the day, maybe it had to do with the fact that I took her to the Red Mango grand opening and shared frozen yogurt with her. She loved it but was FREEZING by the end (it's a cold day and we had to eat outside) and making funny faces because of it. As I type she just asked for a kiss and gave me a hug. She is seriously the best!

Sucking the Thumb

2011-05-18T11:43:00.002-05:00

Jane's been a thumb sucker from day 1 (give or take some time). She never really took to the binky and we didn't push it because we didn't like the idea of it.

Well, her thumb is her best friend and now that she's 2 we've decided it's about time to help her break that habit.

I read somewhere that if you limit where she can suck her thumb (her room) and slowly limit that (her bed) she will stop sucking her thumb. We've been doing it for two days and it's already working without much struggle!!! She knows she has to be in her room to suck her thumb and only slips up when I can tell she's forgotten. She doesn't even get mad at me when I tell her she has to be in her room to suck her thumb. She used to throw a fit if I said, "Jane, please don't suck your thumb."

Yesterday, she was snuggling with me on the couch and all of a sudden she slipped down and said as she walked to her room, "Go to my room, suck my thumb." It made me explode with internal joy that she is totally getting it!! She actually stopped after a couple steps, got distracted by something and forgot she wanted to suck her thumb.

Today, she was talking to someone on her calculator (her phone) and said, "Suck my thumb in room" and then hung up the phone. She just wanted to let who ever she was talking to know the new rules.

I expect some days to be hard but so far so good, so pleasant!!!

Entertainment

2011-05-14T18:29:00.003-05:00

Jane had her birthday party today which was a ton of fun. I'll post pictures and details later but for now...

After her nap and after everyone was gone, Brandt pulled out this little toy Jane got from nursery a while back. He named it Rosker. It was hilarious to see Jane FREAK out about it. She was so scared of it but wanted more and more. I would hold her while Brandt dangled him around by the invisible string and Jane almost clawed me to death, holding on so tight. Brandt and I were laughing so hard at our little birthday girl's misery. Oh the joy of being parents. She eventually gave him a kiss and patted him but that took A LOT of convincing. Now she keeps asking for more "Ryker" but when he get him out she freaks out again with this little laugh shriek.

Science Experiment #2

2011-05-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

So guess what?

And in case you're wondering what Jane thinks about it...

Jumping for joy!

And, hoping to still be the cutest come November 16th...

Thank heavens the 2 months of sickness has past. I'm a much better mother when I feel well.

Yummy.

2011-05-11T09:03:00.001-05:00

Me: "What are you eating?"

Jane: "I eat a bug."

Mother's Day/Birthdays/Announcement

2011-05-09T09:10:00.002-05:00

A lot has transpired the last week. We just got back from Orlando Saturday afternoon and are still recovering. Jane and Brandt are sick so I have a very whiny girl standing next to me as I try to type... but here's a quick rundown of what you missed while we were gone enjoying fun parks and beautiful weather.

Mother's Day: Very low key. I went to church while Brandt and Jane stayed home. It was kind of nice to get to go and actually pay attention. Brandt made me breakfast and dinner which was super nice.

Birthdays: I turned 26 on the 2nd and Jane turned 2 yesterday!! Sunday was OUR special day. Our friends Joseph and Alison brought Jane up some cupcakes RIGHT BEFORE her bed time. She really enjoyed the sprinkles and icing (obviously) and blew out both candles all by herself. All day she sang "Happy day to you".

Announcement: Yesterday, for the first time in her entire life... Jane got her toenails clipped! We went 2 years without needing to trim them and yesterday as I trimmed her finger nails I decided it was time for her toe nails. She can now say she went 2 years without needing to cut her toenails.

She does love me

2011-04-18T22:46:00.002-05:00

This weekend was a little rough on my self esteem. Jane was super snotty to me and super lovey right after about the same exact thing to Brandt. I know that it's really because she loves him and only gets to see him really on the weekends but it still made me a little sad.

I know, wait for the teenage years...

But, today she showed me that she really did love me. I couldn't find my train pass and after 30 minutes of searching the house, pretty calmly I might add, I exhaled, sat on the floor and put my head in my hands. Jane walked right up to me and threw both of her tiny little arms around me. 10 minutes later I was a little more upset I couldn't find it and she did the same thing. Finally, I found it in the same spot I'd looked at 25 times.

Fast forward 15 minutes... We were waiting for the train and it was taking FOREVER. I was losing the last bit of patience I still had. Jane sensed it, hopped down off the bench and gave me another hug.

Seriously a little doll. She usually doesn't give me hugs unless I ask but she genuinely cared about me and wanted me to feel better. I hope I can remember this the next few times she gives me the cold shoulder :)

Sorry mom, again and again!!!

Lego Skyscraper

2011-04-13T16:10:00.005-05:00

I went in to get Jane out of her room after her "independent playtime" and besides a big mess, I found the most marvelous masterpiece! She had built a HUGE tower using ALL of her Duplo Legos.

She was so proud of her work.

She'd say "cheese" with her whole breathe (about 25 seconds of Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese).

And, pose using all the poses she knows of.

Still saying "cheese" without taking another breath.

My favorite part about this tower was that she put the Lego guy so nicely on top.

And one more cheeser face from my little architect.

I think she could use a couple more sets!

Jane's Tia

2011-04-11T17:03:00.003-05:00

I laid Jane down to change her diaper and she grabbed her tiara (she calls it tia). I love that she always wears it upside-down.

And on an unrelated note, anytime I say I'm going to the store she ALWAYS says, "Buy onion?!" No idea...

Finishing Sentences

2011-04-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Lately Jane's been able to sing the last word of verses and even knows what we're asking her to say before we finish telling her. Today I was going to have her say, "Mom, you're the best", which I have her tell me ALL the time to make myself feel good. :) However, she didn't say "best"...

Me: "Jane, say Mom"

Jane: "Mom"

Me: "You're"

Jane: "You're"

Me: "The"

Jane: "The"

Me: (Pause, waiting for her to say "best")

Jane: "Bacon"

So, I am "The Bacon" Yay!

As we fall asleep

2011-04-07T15:29:00.003-05:00

Last night as we lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I blurted out to Brandt, "What are you thinking RIGHT NOW!?"

His response?

"Shawn Spencer"

We had a good laugh.

I was thinking about Lemon Meringue Pie. Mmm.

And just for kicks, here's Jane after a self-feeding meal. Mmm.

Jane's latest

2011-04-04T07:34:00.004-05:00

The other day I had Jane on the changing table and was painstakingly putting her boots on her. She started saying, "Bag, bag, bag. bag, bag". I told her that she could get the bag after we were done putting on her boots as she frequently asks for toys while she's up there. So, I struggled and twisted and shoved and finally they were on. I picked her up and placed her on the ground. I turned around for one second and when I turned back to look at her she had taken a boot off. I said, "Jane! Come on! I just put those on." She looked at me, then the boot, reached inside and pulled out a little bag.

Funny things she's been saying/doing:

I taught Jane to say "IDK" in remembrance of my brother Joshy and she says it perfectly. However, now when she says the alphabet she says, "A B C D (pause) I D K (pause) P Q S T V, and then a bunch of random letters. She USED to say ABCDFG... Oh well. At least it makes me laugh.

And yesterday I taught her to say "psych!". This morning she was in her room by herself and I heard her saying "psych!" to her toys.

She can also say "I do declare" which I taught her because it always made me laugh when Joshy would say it. Although... it sounds more like, "I do decares".

One more thing, Brandt let me sleep in a little yesterday. I was kind of waking up and I heard Brandt tell Jane to go wake mom up. Jane ran into my room yelling, "WAKE UP MOM! WAKE UP MOM!" That's a good way to me woken up (after adequate sleep of coarse).

I love teaching her new tricks. She's the best pet EVER!

Jane and her new sunglasses:

Baby Proofing Proof

2011-04-01T09:54:00.003-05:00

As I wrote and published the previous post, Jane was in her crib in time out because she got into her markers (no damage done, just didn't listen). Just as I was about done with the post, she started crying. I published it and went into her room to get her.

See! That stinker keeps trying to take off her clothes, GRR!!

She always gets her shirts stuck, which is why she starts crying. At least it's a warning she's trying to take them off. And of coarse she posed for the camera, CHEESE!"

Much Needed Baby Proofing

2011-04-01T09:32:00.003-05:00

Jane has one sleeper that doesn't have a little latch over the zipper and she's been taking it off during the night. That really scares me because once she gets that off, she can take off her pajama pants and then her diaper. I would cry if she ever got her diaper off. So. Gross.

Well, I fixed that this morning. I quickly sewed a little latch which should prevent her from taking it off for a while. Yay. Fingers crossed that this works.

Stinker needed her picture taken. Anytime she sees my phone or camera she says, "CHEESE!!!" and then "SEE!!" until I show her the picture. Oh children of the digital age.

Now it's time to get ready for the day. Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday To ME!

2011-03-26T19:02:00.003-05:00

Just kidding... kinda.

Today we went up to Evanston and bought my bike!!! No more 12-year-old boy bike (with a broken seat and pedal)!!

Then, we went to Jamba Juice even though it felt like 10 degrees outside. You should have seen Jane and her chattering little lips. I'm not surprised she was so cold... she drank half of mine AND half of Brandt's smoothie, that stinker.

Then, because it was nearby and because I wanted to, Brandt let us go to Chili's for dinner! He was SOOO nice to let us go there because not only did we just get Papa Johns last night, we just booked a Disneyland trip this week (YAY!!).

So, the new bike was my early birthday present and we went out to my most favorite place for birthday dinners so it felt like it was my day. Oh, and Brandt let me take a 2 hour nap while he took Jane skateboarding. When they got home, Jane ran up to my bed and said, "WAKE UP MOM!"

Jane's First Potty Joke

2011-03-24T20:19:00.003-05:00

She's not even 23 months old yet and she told me her first potty joke today.

Last week she learned how to say her "whole" name. If you ask her what her whole name is she says, "Jane HOFF!!!" (emphasis and scream on the "Hoff" part). I don't blame her. Brinker is kinda hard to say.

Well, today we were on the train and I asked her what her whole name was. She looked at me with a devious smile as if she's been planning to use this one for a while, and said...

"Bum. Hoff."

Then she laughed.

I was shocked so I said, "Bum?!!! No! That's not your name silly girl" and tickled her and laughed with her.

BIG mistake. She proceeded to repeat that all day. By the evening time I was able to keep a straight face when she'd say it and told her that wasn't nice. She eventually went back to saying "Jane Hoff" but we shall see if I reinforced her potty joke!

Carbon Monoxide

2011-03-15T12:33:00.003-05:00

Last night we were woken up from a dead sleep at 2:45am. The carbon monoxide detector was going off. We ran to take the batteries out because not only is it ear piercing, it's right across from Jane's room. We started talking about how annoying it was because it goes off on occasion for no reason and what are you actually suppose to do, call the fire department to find out if something actually is wrong or just a glitch?

Right after we said that, we heard the fire in the oven heat back up... I had left the oven on warm!! So, thankfully the detector went off, and for good reason.

It took Jane an hour to fall back asleep and Brandt and I struggled until about 5am to fall back asleep (airing out the apartment kind of wakes one up). But, we're alive and I know you're glad to hear that.

On another note, my neighbor just gave me a large bag of homemade shortbread cookies, half-dipped in chocolate. I don't like him anymore. This may kill my will power.

Super Girl Jane

2011-03-11T09:00:00.000-06:00

We went to a birthday party in January where Jane was given a cape and mask. We have had a lot of fun with it since then.

Meet Super Hero Jane. Any ideas on what her name and super power should be?

This is her flying, by the way:

Fort of the Century!

2011-03-04T16:54:00.000-06:00

While I was in Houston, Brandt spent some quality time with Jane. Some of that time was spent building the most awesome fort in the world.

Jane, you're one lucky lady to have him as a dad!

New Words & Hair

2011-02-28T13:55:00.003-06:00

It really seems like Jane is learning about 3 new words a day now. Today she was playing in her room, came out to me and said, "Kiss?" I asked her if she wanted a kiss because she's never asked for one before and she said yes and puckered up!

Also, randomly, she spent 20 minutes roaming the house saying, "Jesus Christ AMEN!" over and over! It actually sounded like, "Desus Kyste AMEN". Again, she's never strung all those words together.

While we were out running errands, I had the I-GO car for 3 hours today, Jane said, "Go Emi Home?" Awe! Emi is her new best friend who lives a block south of us. She's never said that before either!

I am so sad she's growing up. Like, really sad. Yesterday at church she looked so big and old in the little blue tennis dress we put on her for the first time. I'd give her permission to grow up if she'd promise to always ask me for kisses and NEVER say mean things to me. I'm not looking forward to teenage angst!

For now she's a little 1.87 year old who lets me do WHATEVER experiment I want to with her hair and I love it!

I had no idea what I was planning to do... I just went with it. Yes, she's watching a show so I can do her hair, genius.

And, done. Don't mind the red scalp, yikes!

This is her playful cheese/fighting Irish/cruncher face!

Elder Joshy

2011-02-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

(Elder Arnett and his lovely sister, me.)

I went to Texas Saturday evening for some family festivities (baby brother going on a mission) and just got back Wednesday night.

I DID NOT BRING JANE!!!

It was heaven.

Saturday: Went out to eat with my Dad and Josh and then went to Walmart with my Mom and Anna to get some fixings for the week ahead. Stayed up way too late.

Sunday: Went to Church where Josh spoke and I got to see some people from long ago. Afterward I took a nap, my Uncle Pat came over (he stayed until Tuesday morning) and we played cards with Cheryl Trahan. Played dominoes and stayed up way too late.

Monday: Slept in till 9am! Went to Shipley's for donuts with Anna, Josh and my Dad. Then I went couponing with my Mom, Uncle Pat and Josh... spent $34 and saved over $125. Anna, my Dad and I then went to the gym and then my Dad and I went to Putt Putt. I schooled him (3 hole in ones!) but he kicked my trash at Air Hockey. We went to eat at Logan Roadhouse (Texas Roadhouse knock off) and then came home and played Monopoly with Dad, Josh and Uncle Pat. Some things are unforgivable Dad, I'll just leave it at that. Stayed up way too late.

Tuesday: Went to the temple with the family. Awesome. Then we went Chili's. Awesome. That evening Josh was set apart. Played dominoes with my Dad and Anna, I don't think I'll ever beat him. Again, stayed up way too late.

Wednesday: Slept in till 9am! Hung out and then my Mom and Dad took me to lunch and then the airport.

It was a wonderful trip. So good to go home.

What a child can learn in 4 days

2011-02-25T15:26:00.004-06:00

Jane learned a lot while I was in Texas. I come back and she's doing a few things I wanted to share.

She says, "oo oo" and "kee kee" all the time. Apparently "oo oo" is what she calls her monkey now, which makes sense since that's what a monkey says. Doesn't help that Brandt thought it was so cute that he calls her monkey that too. It is cute. It's all I can do to not reinforce it. "Kee kee" is what she calls her kitty. Those two are her best friends.

I went into her room last night because she started crying 3 hours after going to bed. I go to pick her up and see that her zip-up sleeper is all the way unzipped. Brandt said she did that the other night too. When he went in to get her in the morning, only her feet were still in her footy pjs. Good thing we put pjs on underneath because I have a feeling this is going to be a new thing she does when she's bored in her crib before falling asleep.

Oh and at Tot Spot she started jumping off the top of the slide. It's only 3 feet off the ground but it's the funniest thing to watch. I accidentally reinforced it because I couldn't stop laughing. When she jumps off, she jumps as high as she can and the first thing to touch the ground is her little bum. You'll read about her going to the ER from it soon...

And, because I think everything she does is cute, she does "Ballerina" on que now. This is where she gets on her tip toes, puts her arms out in front of her and twirls around... over and over and over again until she runs into the wall.

AND, she almost put a pair of pants on all by herself, she eats a cheese stick straight from the wrapper (instead of me cutting it into pieces) and is stringing words together! She's getting so big!

Working Out

2011-02-10T09:18:00.003-06:00

Me: Jane, I don't want to work out.

Jane: Work! work!

Me: Oh, you want me to work out?

Jane: Yeah! Mat, mat!

Me: You want me to get the mats?

Jane: Yeah! Irma!

Irma's her cabbage patch doll. Either she wanted Irma to work out too or I lost her attention.

**Update** I did in fact work out. I hurt. Half way though Jane started climbing on me and saying, "All done, work". Trust me Jane, I wanted to be done.

Jane's First FRENCH Braids

2011-02-08T08:47:00.003-06:00

I didn't want to have daughters unless I knew how to French braid hair so I learned. And, Sunday I got to French braid Jane's hair for church!

She sat very calm and patiently while watching Cars as I did it.

Now I'm ready for her to go to girl's camp!

See Jane's Braids:

Anna, notice how I did BOTH SIDES of her hair and didn't quit after the first? She has SO MUCH LESS hair than you :)

Jane's First Braids

2011-02-04T11:00:00.004-06:00

Today marked a momentous occasion. Jane got her first pair of braids!

I sat her in her booster seat, buckled her in and turned on a SUPER annoying cartoon on Hulu called Boo. Don't watch it. She let me do her braids without any fuss! Once I was done I promptly took pictures and turned off the show.

So, here's Jane with her cute little braids:

Snowmageddon 2011

2011-02-04T09:00:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from the CRAZY snow storm we received on Tuesday. The first and third are pictures my friend Alison took...

The day after in front of our building:

From our balcony 2 days after. Notice how high the snow is where the person in walking? I walked about a mile with Jane in the stroller today. BIG mistake. I ended up carrying both down some streets!

This is from the day after when we went to the beach. It's hard to believe it's a beach. It looked like an arctic wasteland. And, since the wind and snow were blowing so hard there was zero water in sight.

And Jane because I know you like her.

She's telling you "hello" but you came in at the "lo" part of it... just so you know.

And here she's saying "hi" to you while waving her hands. Yes, those are my gloves on top of hers.

My little cheeser.

My pretty little cheeser.

Snow Day Fun

2011-02-03T08:57:00.006-06:00

These are photos from our last snow day. Trust me, there is WAY too much snow out there now to take pictures while making sure Jane doesn't drowned in it.

Enjoy!

Jane ready to play in her new snow gear. I love my chubby marshmallow!

She was super excited to play in the snow.

She kept asking for "bites" of it.

She thought it was very interesting.

We would have played "Bury the Jane" longer but she only liked it for a couple minutes.

This is Dad teaching Jane about snow angels.

See Jane make a snow angel.

Keep going Jane, you're doing great!

Yay! She did it! Momma's so proud!

Our happy family.

Wait, that's not Dad! Blog reader, meet Mr. Snowman. He's a lot better looking than my first.

Jane, AKA "Crazy Child of Terror and Destruction"!

As I was showing Jane this post before hitting "publish", she reached her hand to the screen, grabbed a pretend handful of the snow and took a bite of it. Told you, she's obsessed! I think it's her favorite food right now :)

A Snow Day

2011-02-02T12:16:00.002-06:00

Brandt got to stay home from work today... an official snow day. Um, we definitely got more than the 18 inches projected.

On our balcony it's about 2 feet in some places.

We went to the beach and actually walked OVER a fence. We saw it about 4 feet in some spots. And you could hardly see 10 feet in front of you when the wind was blowing.

The streets are abandoned.

A bus was stuck at the end of our street.

Winds got up to 55 miles while we were at the beach not to mention all last night!

And, last night we had a THUNDERSNOW! There was actually thunder and lightning!

It's pretty cool since we will personally have zero repercussions.

Yay for snow days!!!

This blizzard and the crazies

2011-02-01T16:08:00.002-06:00

Today someone asked me, "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

It took me a minute to figure out what she was asking. At first I thought I had a party to plan or a flight to catch but no, she was inquiring if I was ready for the blizzard that's supposed to hit tonight.

She was wondering if I had enough food and water, clothes and warmth to make it though the 18 inches of snow that's expected.

REALLY!?! It's going to last a day. 1 day. And, we NEVER get as much snow as projected.

So, do I have enough food and water, clothes and warmth to make it though the 18 inches of snow?

YES. Duh. Are there really people out there who don't? Yes, I know some people are unfortunate enough to be homeless, but the average person... If so, wow. I hope everyone who reads this blog has enough food in their homes to get by for quite some time without being able to shop.

According to the gossip at the indoor play area today, most stores here in Chicago were simply OUT of some food. People have been stocking up on essentials and bananas to survive this one day storm :)

Oh and the storm has come early. It's a white out right now. Good thing I have freshly baked bread, peanut butter cookies, and asparagus risotto to make it through!

Fun, $$ Saving Day

2011-01-31T14:39:00.003-06:00

My best savings day EVER was today.

But, before I get to that, I love my daughter. She spent 2 hours screaming in pain trying to poop today... 2 HOURS (yes, I did give her a suppository... I hate that word)! I held her the whole time while she struggled, screaming in my ear. After 1.5 hours, I brought her to my bed so we could both be more comfortable and she fell asleep within 5 minutes! I almost woke her up because it was 9am and she isn't supposed to nap until 12:30 but I could tell she was just exhausted. So, I watched her sleep and then took a nap myself while cuddling her (I never get to do that). I let her sleep for 45 minutes and then woke her up. She woke up happy but immediately began trying to poop again. Luckily she got it out after a half hour.

Then we went shopping! We took the train to Walgreens, CVS and Target. Jane did superb in every place and on the train (with help of snacks of coarse). Target was our last stop so after we were done shopping we enjoyed some Pizza Hut bread sticks and an ICEE (I had coupons for both... hehe). Jane was super cute. I LOVE my girly lunch dates. She can now say ICEE and points to the machines whenever she sees one. Here's to childhood obesity! Now Jane is sleeping and my back hurts from hauling all of the above, Jane, and her stroller on and off the train w/o the help of elevators.

So, my savings...

Target:
2 Peanut Butter Snickers
2 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
2 Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal
8 Olay Soap Bars
1 Toddler Bike helmet (75% off!!!)
4 Bags Tostito's Chips
2 Tostito's Salsas

Saved: 49.92
Spent: 4.84 (the price of the helmet alone)

CVS:
9 Skippy Peanut Butters
1 Herbal Essence Gel
1 Aussie Gel

Saved: 40.53
Spent: 2.58

Walgreens:
3 Herbal Essence Conditioner
1 Herbal Essence Shampoo
5 Natrol Melatonin Sleep Aids
4 Blink Tears
1 Neuragen Pain Relief
10 Butterfinger Snackers
3 Degree Clinical Woman's Deodorant

Saved: $135.97
Spent: $38.45

AND, I left with $61 in Register Rewards

Today I got everything on the table for free and MADE $15.13!!

In an abusive relationship

2011-01-26T17:06:00.003-06:00

I love Jane but sometimes she's just plain mean.

Last week she pulled my hair really hard twice! (I guess she WAS just trying to catch herself as she fell off the chair she was standing on and my long ponytail was the only thing she could grab.)

A few days ago, she kicked me in the stomach while trying to change her diaper. (Okay, she was just being hyper.)

Yesterday, she almost gave me a black eye after she hit me in the face with her really thick bible story book. Now I can't squint or it hurts really bad. (I admit this was a complete accident on her part.)

Today she pointed at the shirt I'm wearing which I happen to really like and said, "gross". (100% mean! Not an accident of any kind!)

Thanks Jane. I love you too. To get even I've been giving her lots of tickle kisses. Mwa-ha-ha.

Jane and her potty mouth

2011-01-24T17:42:00.002-06:00

Jane is obsessed with her puppet frog. The only problem with this obsession is that she learned to say frog but it doesn't quite sound like "frog" because she can't say r's or g's.

It sounds EXACTLY like the "F" word.

My 20 month-old daughter runs around our house repeating the "F" word over and over and even yells it. I am laughing so much I'm probably burning calories but this isn't going to be good in public... yikes!

Oh and I still haven't found out what she's saying when she says the "SH" word...

Girl's Lunch Date

2011-01-20T13:46:00.002-06:00

It's cold outside, like less than 20 degrees cold and when you add the wind... yikes! So today, Jane and I figured it was time for a lunch date. We hopped on the train and headed to Chili's. We shared a chicken caesar pita (not on the menu anymore!!!) and fries. It was delish. Then, after the waiter brought the check I changed my mind about getting dessert and asked for the chocolate molten cake.

You see, I NEVER get to order it because we don't go there much and when we do we either don't want dessert or I don't want to order it b/c only I will eat it. I guess I do have to admit for Brandt's sake that he has let me order it before (the day I got out of the hospital when I was 27 weeks prego and I guess on my birthday too).

So, Jane and I shared the cake. She LOVED it! I knew she would but it was so funny to watch her eat it. I'd put some on her HUGE spoon and give the spoon to her. She'd put the spoon in her mouth and keep it in her mouth while and threw her head back. That's my girl. Now I know who to share it with. She even let me have most of it unlike my sister Anna who takes cheap shots and steals it off my spoon before I can even get it to my mouth.

We paid with my Christmas gift cards (thanks Brandt and Ann) and now Jane is fighting her nap... probably too much sugar :)

Amazon Gift Card Deal

2011-01-19T07:56:00.003-06:00

Hey friends,

I just got a $20 Amazon gift card for $10 through a website like Groupon. I don't know about you but I order something from Amazon about once a week so this saves me $10!!

So if you're interested click HERE. The Deal site is called LivingSocial. Go NOW!

Oh and if you click through from the link above I will get credit for referrals so do that :)

Mo Bock

2011-01-13T14:21:00.004-06:00

Jane is learning about 3 new words every day. She jibbers and jabbers all day and I can understand most of it. I don't think most people know what she's saying but I know quite a bit of it...

side = outside
nana = banana
cock = clock
gock = sock
tall tall = she wants to sing the snow man song
amal = animal
juice = any liquid
co = it's cold
mo = more
bop bop = either she tooted or heard a toot :)

I'm still not sure what two of the words are that she says ALL THE TIME.

One of them is... sounds exactly like a swear word and rhymes with hit. She's constantly swearing!!

The other sounds like "em-ee". Absolutely no idea.

Last night Jane ate some chicken nuggets for dinner. She had 5 which is normally a little too much for her to finish. Well, after she was done she kept saying, "mo bock" over and over. Brandt gave her some prunes and after she devoured those she still kept saying, "mo bock". It took a while but he eventually figured out she was trying to say "more chicken nuggets". She's so smart. Yes Jane, chickens do say bock bock.

Coupon Class

2011-01-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm teaching my first (and only, hopefully) coupon class tonight at the church. It's a great opportunity to unload a bunch of my stockpile and teach some lovely ladies some money saving tips. Wish me luck!

Jane, just for kicks.

Christmas Photos

2011-01-11T09:26:00.004-06:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas/New Years. Brandt had off over a week so we just played, played, played and ate a lot of yummy food. Christmas Eve we went to the Humpherys' home and hung out with a bunch of friends. It was only 8 or so blocks away so we walked over as it snowed. It was such a nice walk and really brought in the Christmas feeling, especially since Brandt and I sang carols along the way. The next day we hung out with most of the same people at the Brunson's home. Jane was in heaven with all the toys from both places. The following Monday we went to the Wisconsin Outlets with the Van Den Berghe's and enjoyed some yummy Noodles and Company afterward.

For New Years we just kept it low key and stayed home. Brandt played airplanes all night on a borrowed Wii and I played online Canasta all night. We really bonded.

And now we're back to reality. Here are some pictures from Christmas. I actually like the blurriness of them because it shows Jane's excitement. Her first REAL Christmas!

Christmas Eve: Per Arnett tradition Jane got to open one present.

She did a great job opening her gift and all her gifts the next day too.

Some new pajamas from Grandma Brinkerhoff! I love them because they say happy and Jane says "happy" really cute these days.

And the beads Grandma let her play with over Thanksgiving!!

Both of them together, bag lady style.

My daughter. We love her.

Christmas Morning after stockings and before presents.

We are so blessed!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,
The Brinkerhoff's

Janegerbread House 2010

2010-12-24T13:43:00.003-06:00

As you all know I retired from gingerbread making last year. As you remember, I went out with a bang. That darn thing took a ton of time AND resources so I was done. I let everyone know, ALL YEAR, that I wasn't going to be making one this year. Then, I got an email from my FATHER saying, "I expect you to enter something for the competition."

What!?!
Really!?!
Expect!!??

I can't NOT listen to my FATHER, never have, never will so, I did it. And here you have it...

LAST YEAR'S Masterpiece...
2009:

THIS YEAR'S sequel...
2010:

Snowman

2010-12-22T17:25:00.004-06:00

I've been singing Once There Was A Snowman with Jane and now she'll get, "tall Tall TALL" and "SMALL, Small, small." It's pretty cute to watch.

And, last night there was a ton of snow in our front yard so after errands Jane and I built our FIRST snowman together!!! Well, as you can imagine I did most of the building and she did a lot of swatting and kicking so I promptly moved her to the other side of the yard. That gave me some time to build since there was a lot of snow for her to maneuver in :) Our friend Joseph came home as we were building so he helped occupy her as I finished it up. Now we have a short and morbidly obese snowman sitting on our lawn. How festive!

Today I went out to get a picture of it in the day light and I was saddened to see someone decapitated it...

So, I rebuilt him and gave him new life. Meet Mr. Snowman...

See Jane: Pet a Dog

2010-12-21T08:58:00.004-06:00

Part 4 in the See Jane series...

From the time sound came out of her mouth she could tell you what a dog said, "oof oof". She gets so giddy when she sees one walking past and even giddier when they lick her. She's always been pretty good about putting her hand out, palm up, so dogs are pretty friendly to her as well.

See Jane pet a dog:

See Jane: Pick Up Sticks

2010-12-20T10:50:00.004-06:00

Part 3 in the See Jane series...

Jane is obsessed with sticks. She ALWAYS has to have at least one in her hand at all times even if she's swinging, walking, in the stroller, or eating (at the park, not inside).

See Jane pick up sticks:

She's pretty good at finding them.

She likes them big, she likes them small.

She will look until she's found them ALL. On the sidewalk...

In the garden...

"That's not a stick, beg your pardon."

That's my girl!